


Worry

by crueltyland



Series: They Didn't Know [2]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Bilbo, Gen, Memory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protection, Revelations, Secrets, The Past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-17
Updated: 2015-05-17
Packaged: 2018-03-31 01:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3959377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crueltyland/pseuds/crueltyland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When they reach Beorn's house, the company has a few days of rest to heal and observe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Worry

When they finally reached Beorn's, Gandalf brought the hobbit with him, alone at first.

Beorn saw it. The skin changer saw the halfling for who he truly was. “The wizard tells me that you are Bilbo Baggins of the Shire.” Bilbo looked up at him, assessing. “You and your friends will stay here. If you need to work, I will assist you.” Bilbo looked away as Gandalf expressed gratitude and called forth the dwarrow.

The first to see it this time was Ori. The gentle scribe saw him calmly slip out at dusk while the others headed for the baths. Beorn headed to the door, warning them not to exit while it was dark. Ori, worried, told Gandalf. The wizard gave him a sad smile, “Our host has offered Bilbo help with his work. You needn’t worry. Now, you need rest.” Ori went to bed, worried about his friend.

The second to see it was Nori. Like his brother, he watched their little friend carefully. When he calmly walked in after the giant man as dawn coloured the sky, Nori flinched. Bilbo was dripping wet, as though he had fallen in a river, but streaked with black blood. His fingers were bloody and his hair was matted. Beorn showed the hobbit where the bath was and Nori sat down at the kitchen table, worried about their burglar.

Dwalin smelled death. He awoke, clutching onto Grasper and Keeper. He checked the room, and finding no threat, exited to source the disruption. He came across Bilbo in the bath. The clothes that lay discarded were torn and bloodied, stinking of the blood of orcs. He swallowed, watching as the hobbit sat with his back to the warrior, rinsing his hair. Seeing the bright red of fresh wounds, Dwalin left, worried for the little man.

Oin fetched his kit. He waited in the room Beorn had given Bilbo. When the hobbit came in, he tried to explain that he would tend his injuries. Bilbo just sat down, looking ahead blankly. Oin stitched and bandaged, applied salve and removed bone shards from the hobbits wounds. Oin checked his reflexes and worried about a concussion. The healer left him alone, worried about his mental state.

Kili fretted, walking back and forth in the bright noon sun. Bilbo did not eat breakfast with them and the prince struggled to remember the last time he had actually seen the hobbit eat. Kili stalked the garden, worried that they were losing their hobbit.

Fili watched his brother and kept watching the door for any sign of the hobbit coming into the garden. Fili watched until the sun began to set and frowned. As the company gathered around the table Fili worried that Bilbo was no longer a part of it.

Dori made tea for the four of them, then remembered that Bilbo had not been seen. He smiled to the others and went looking for the hobbit. He found someone who certainly looked similar to the little man, but changed. His face looked younger, though bodily he was taller and slightly broader of chest. When he looked at Dori, the dwarf shivered at the intensity he was pierced with. When he backed out of the room and sat at the table with the others Dori worried about just what had become of Master Baggins.

Gloin watched as Beorn carried a large plateful of food away. He heard two deep voices conversing, then a snarl and a laugh. Beorn returned with the empty plate and smiled at the wizard. Gloin looked around, concerned that no one else seemed to be asking about their burglar. He silently sat worrying about the creatures safety in this strange place.

Bifur was always worried. Worried about where food would come from. Worried about where they would sleep. Worried about harm coming to a gentle creature such as Bilbo Baggins. At this moment for the first time since his wounding, Bifur was worried about how he had so badly misjudged the hobbit as ever being gentle.

Bombur piled food into his mouth, eating away his nerves. He chomped and bit and licked until the last of the food was eaten from the table. Bofur gave him a sad look and Bombur knew why he was nervous. He was worried that the hobbit who cooked and talked and laughed with him, the hobbit who was his friend, was not real.

Balin kept a close eye on everyone as the evening drew on. Beorn grunted a warning and headed to the door. Balin looked around, making sure everyone was inside, and apart from Bilbo, within eye line. Balin caught sight of the wizard who was looking markedly unnerved. Balin worried that whatever had happened might affect their quest.

Bofur took a long draw from the stem of his pipe and leaned back against the plump back of Bombur. He stared into the fire, considering the events of the past month. He shuddered at the memory of their little hobbit standing guard over the prone body of the king, utterly devoid of humour or manners, covered head to toe in blood and literal chunks of orc flesh. He worried about Bilbo, and if the hobbit was going to ever come out of his shock.

Gandalf stared into nothingness. He stared off into his memory, bringing back the images of days long since passed. The Took clan, the fae, their lives intertwined. The Baggins and the Dwarf. Forewarned and Foretold, Galadriel had said. Forewarned and Foretold, and yet he pushed. Meddlesome as accused he may be indeed. Gandalf silently sat, wrapped in the past, and worried about Bilbo Baggins, son of Belladonna Took and Bungo Baggins, and if the memories were hurting the hobbit too.

Thorin could sit still no longer. He knocked and entered through the door. Seeing the man larger than before Thorin gasped and took a step back. Thorin worried that some form of magic had been cast upon the hobbit.

Bilbo worried. He worried that he could no longer control his temper. He worried that he would ever be feared and stumbled and ran away from. Most of all Bilbo worried that he would never be able to stop the flow of memories that had been unleashed.


End file.
